Is my CPU damaged?

[yerjam]

So I got an Antec 920. I installed it and when I powered on my system the radiator fans weren't working and the pump didn't seem to be working either. I turned everything off immediately, made sure everything was connected correctly and tried again - the same thing happened, the radiator fans weren't running and the pump didn't seem to be working. I checked the fans using the fan headers on my motherboard and they worked fine so I narrowed the problem down to a busted 920 and took it apart to prepare for an RMA.

I installed the stock Intel cooler just to check nothing was damaged (note, my system was not overclocked). When I booted up my idle temps hovered around 85C which I thought was a bit odd considering normally non-overclocked the stock cooler gets idle temps of around 30-35C (CPU usage hovering between 0-1%). I checked to see if it was attached correctly and it is.

Now the temperatures seem to vary wildly. When I initially turn my system on I get idle temps of around 40C, then after a few hours it will slowly creep back up to 80C, sometimes even hitting 90C. I use both CoreTemp and RealTemp and get the exact same readings. When I run a game I can play for about 15 minutes normally before the game crashes (I haven't yet got a blue screen or anything however).

So has my CPU been damaged? My system was completely fine before installing the 920. I don't normally use the stock Intel cooler but the temps are ridiculous compared to what I would normally get non-overclocked. Like I said, non-overclocked used to hit around 35C idle and around 65-70C under load. If it is damaged will Antec replace my CPU? Do I just mention my CPU was damaged when applying for an RMA? Thanks.

Just to reiterate my system is not currently overclocked and is running at stock speeds.

 

[humbug]

I would think you would need to prove the Cooler Damaged the CPU, which is not going to be easy.

Your supposed to run water coolers uninstalled outside of the case before use to check for leaks ect...

Did the cooler leak? it there anything wrong with its contact plate, is the heat spreader on the CPU still (perfectly) flat?
any cracks or warping on the Motherboard? is the socket perfectly intact, all the pins are as they should be?

 

[yerjam]

I would think you would need to prove the Cooler Damaged the CPU, which is not going to be easy.

Your supposed to run water coolers uninstalled outside of the case before use to check for leaks ect...

Stupidly I did not do this, I suppose this is what I get for being too hasty.

Did the cooler leak? it there anything wrong with its contact plate, is the heat spreader on the CPU still (perfectly) flat?
any cracks or warping on the Motherboard? is the socket perfectly intact, all the pins are as they should be?

The cooler did not leak and there's nothing wrong with the contact plate as far as I can tell. The heat spreader on the CPU is still flat. No cracks or warping on the motherboard as far as I can tell. The socket itself is fine, the motherboard is only about a month old.

 

[humbug]

I don't know what could be wrong with it, normally a virus or some other dodgy or corrupted software running in the background can heat up a CPU, normally i would suggest opening up the Task Manager to see what the CPU load is, and see what application is loading it, but that's not applicable here. nor is applied Thermal Compound?

You haven't got another socket 1155 CPU laying around have you?

Anything, preferably cheap and disposable just to check it is the CPU, or test the offending CPU in a different Motherboard?

 

[delta0]

I don't think it is possible to cook a cpu anymore unless you overvolt it. They protect themselves by downclocking.

 

[CaNsA]

Did you replace the TIM ?
Using old stuff can mess things up.

 

[Kaapstad]

So I got an Antec 920. I installed it and when I powered on my system the radiator fans weren't working and the pump didn't seem to be working either. I turned everything off immediately, made sure everything was connected correctly and tried again - the same thing happened, the radiator fans weren't running and the pump didn't seem to be working. I checked the fans using the fan headers on my motherboard and they worked fine so I narrowed the problem down to a busted 920 and took it apart to prepare for an RMA.

I installed the stock Intel cooler just to check nothing was damaged (note, my system was not overclocked). When I booted up my idle temps hovered around 85C which I thought was a bit odd considering normally non-overclocked the stock cooler gets idle temps of around 30-35C (CPU usage hovering between 0-1%). I checked to see if it was attached correctly and it is.

Now the temperatures seem to vary wildly. When I initially turn my system on I get idle temps of around 40C, then after a few hours it will slowly creep back up to 80C, sometimes even hitting 90C. I use both CoreTemp and RealTemp and get the exact same readings. When I run a game I can play for about 15 minutes normally before the game crashes (I haven't yet got a blue screen or anything however).

So has my CPU been damaged? My system was completely fine before installing the 920. I don't normally use the stock Intel cooler but the temps are ridiculous compared to what I would normally get non-overclocked. Like I said, non-overclocked used to hit around 35C idle and around 65-70C under load. If it is damaged will Antec replace my CPU? Do I just mention my CPU was damaged when applying for an RMA? Thanks.

Just to reiterate my system is not currently overclocked and is running at stock speeds.

Sounds like something wrong with the mobo, even if the CPU was totally *&^%ed it has no way of reaching the temps you are getting provided the mobo and cooler are working correctly.

 

[yerjam]

Thanks for the replies guys. Unfortunately humbug I don't have another motherboard to test on, but I think I found the problem.

I decided to reseat the CPU and give everything a good clean. I reinstalled everything and left it running for a while and I've discovered it looks like the CPU fan header on the mobo is busted. The fan runs for a few minutes then stops completely which explains the temperature spikes. As an experiment I plugged the CPU fan into another 4-pin header which is nearby the CPU socket and it runs perfectly, temps are in their normal range and the fan has been running for about 20 minutes now with no sign of cutting out. This might explain why the 920 wasn't working as well.

I don't know how this happened. It's kind of odd considering the system was working absolutely fine before I installed the 920. Also I didn't think a system could boot without anything plugged into the CPU fan header. Perhaps the 920 shorted the header somehow?

I was going to test the 920 outside of the case but I don't want it to short another header... what would you guys recommend?

 

[pgi947]

How is the 920 powered? If its all powered via a 3 or 4 pin fan connector rather than the pump running from a molex this may explain the fan header being dead. I'd suspect the pump + 2 fans on a single header might be a little too much?

 

[yerjam]

How is the 920 powered? If its all powered via a 3 or 4 pin fan connector rather than the pump running from a molex this may explain the fan header being dead. I'd suspect the pump + 2 fans on a single header might be a little too much?

There's a 3 pin fan connector plus an internal USB connector which were both connected properly when I initially installed the unit (I'm pedantic about these things). I've since tried the 920 on another header and everything's running fine (finger's crossed), so I went ahead and installed it again. Still not sure how the CPU fan header has died or how the system's running with nothing connected to it though.

 

[humbug]

Glad you got it working. as for the fan header, you guess is as good as mine

 

[Harveywoo]

Personally I started W/c'ing by using the Antec 920 and it let me down on 3 occasions, being very unstable..albeit awesome when it worked. I basically had the same convo with the guys at Overclockers that the cooler fried my cpu and they said it couldnt be proved even though it was the only pheasable cause.

As for leak testing it outside of the case the Antec instructions DONT tell you to do it therefore I wouldnt as they say assumption is the mother of all FULLY STAR SWEAR WORDS ups.

I sent a storming email to antec themselves who agreed that it was a defective cooler as it had to be RMA's and they refunded me for the cooler's price which pretty much paid for a new CPU and I had the cooler swapped for a new one which I then instantly returned and had some money off my custom loop.